Regardless of your business type or sector your competitiveness and ongoing success will depend on one thing: your future leaders. Leadership development is therefore one of the most valuable investments your business will ever make.

I don’t need to tell you… the business landscape has never been so uncertain and challenging; but it is also a place of immense opportunity and prosperity.

The people who will lead your business of tomorrow will need to possess an unprecedented range of skills combined with a deep understanding of your business and vision for its future.

A business with emerging leaders who are not only adept at navigating adversity whilst maintaining strategic and innovative mindsets but who are also technically and digitally savvy; will gain competitive advantage.

So who and where are your next generation of leaders? And how are you preparing them to lead?

Nature or nurture?

Many people possess the qualities and motivation for leadership success, but they require nurture and development. Even born leaders need grooming so that their skills are polished and honed.

By implementing well-designed, structured leadership development, you will not only ensure that your future leaders are equipped with the necessary skills; you will also have the benefit of developing exactly the type of leaders your business requires.

Investing time to work and develop your future leadership team will allow you to embed culture and values, align business strategy, and encourage a high level of teamwork and trust within this group.

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.– Jack Welch

Case study

I am currently working with the UK branch of a global organisation who has suffered poor leadership for many years resulting in a negative culture, resistant to change and where fun and rewards are non-existent. The emerging leaders struggled to make their mark, facing historic uncooperative attitudes and a wall of “we’ve always done it this way, why change?”.

With the help of government funding we were able to work together and implement a 12-month leadership and management programme embarking the entire management team on a continuous journey to lead a successful business and implement change.

They are now on a path where there is evidence of a shared vision, aligned values, concise goals, clear reporting lines, support, reward and a real sense of a team success.

There have been casualties during the process, but this is both inevitable and positive as their values were not aligned to those of the organisation and they were ultimately not part of the future.

As a result of this particular leadership journey, the business has experienced an increase in productivity, a higher level of customer service and improved staff retention reducing their ongoing recruitment costs.

What happens if you don’t invest in future leaders?

At some point you, or your current leadership team will be ready to move on. But to ensure your business continues to thrive, you need to keep your best talent onboard and engaged.

If you don’t invest in your future leaders, they will leave.

A lack of high-potential, invested employees will contribute to poor productivity and engagement and will ultimately affect your bottom line. Study after study shows that businesses who invest in leadership development perform better than those that don’t.

No longer a ‘nice to have’

A Leadership Development Programme is critical to the ongoing success of your business.

As a leader, you will have created and articulated a vision for your future… now who is going to drive and implement that vision, and how?

It’s never too early to identify and develop future leaders. Many organisations don’t think about leadership development until there is a pressing need, but by that point it is often too late.

Come and talk to me about developing your future leaders – there’s no time like the present!

Many of us, whether we own a business or are employed, lose sight of our Nana Vision!

The demands of our everyday are all consuming and most of us work with a to-do list long enough to keep us busy throughout the whole week allowing very little time to think longer term.

My “Nana Vision” was first realised whilst planning with a client. It has provided me with clarity, direction, focus and comfort knowing there is an end goal and longer-term focus and a clear picture of what life looks like in my later years.

So, what is a Nana Vision?

A Nana Vision – a phrase I’ve personally coined – is the life you imagine living once you have become a Nana (or not, as the case may be). What will those days look like? What will you be doing? Who will you spend them with? What is important to you? What makes you feel happy?

My Nana Vision fills me with emotion… It’s like when enjoying your best day out; happy, fulfilled and surrounded by people you love. And this is what makes every day leading up to this time worthwhile and exciting.

I currently work as a business coach helping many business owners. The days when I am not coaching, I am planning, reading, or facilitating workshops and Mastermind groups all of which I love doing.

My Nana Vision is not too far away from my everyday now, except I will work with fewer clients, have less coaching days and I will be rewarded with much higher fees. I will enjoy time to research and write and help younger generations who are planning to start their own enterprises by speaking at schools, universities and entrepreneur clubs. My free time will be in abundance I will enjoy (I hope) days out with my grandchildren, husband and lots of lunches with the girls!

Having a Nana Vision has enabled me to look ahead, envisage the dream and plan my journey. I know how long I have and what I need to do – everything needs to lead to that vision.

It’s 6.30am and I’m out running in my local town… It’s a time of day I never really knew before having children, and an activity I’m only just coming to terms with. I’m doing it because I do not need to think for anyone else for the next hour. Running hurts, it’s tough but keep going because although I could easily stop, something in my brain has switched off and my body just keeps going. You see, that’s what I really love about that hour. For a whole hour, I don’t have to make a single decision. The rest of my day is not like that. Every second I’m making a decision or telling someone else what to do. Hurry up, we’ll be late for school. What should I take out of the freezer for dinner? At work, how many sales have we hit this month? Who can I outsource that to? Where should I take my client to lunch? And perhaps most importantly, how I do ensure I am always motivating and inspiring others? As women, we’re told we’re good at doing multiple things at once, but I suspect this is a plot to get us to DO multiple things at once. Running a company and being a parent is not easy. It requires resilience and grace under pressure. It means you need to constantly show strength, even when you’re not feeling particularly strong, I now understand the priorities surrounding my main dual roles, I can now live with 80% being good enough and believe that I’m a better business owner because of my role as a mum, and I’m a better mum because of my role as a business owner.”

Women in business now have huge opportunities – the irony is that the one thing standing in the way of them and success is the confidence that they can achieve it. I witness this in my coaching practice too often. I sit across from women who are unsure of their value within the business, unsure of what they as individuals offer towards the growth and development plans. I can see their worth and to me their potential is obvious; to me they are born leaders. It is the most rewarding experience to share in a women’s growth journey; to see her overcome the self-doubt and self-sabotage, gain the self-belief and address the balance, to feel the fear, to grit her teeth and to own it! I think women still need to find their own leadership style and have the confidence to follow that through. One of the things I want to do, personally, is help inspire women to do that. Part of it is about accepting that it’s good for men and women to have different goals and priorities in life. Not better, just different.

It is rare that something is so precious and so cherished, Time is longed for and wanted, we all dream of either pressing the pause button or re-inventing the 24hr day to make it longer some of us want to go back in time to alter the events or to relive them if only………………….

Time is so precious that we need to treat it with the respect it deserves.

With that in mind can I be bold enough to ask you to be honest with how you feel about the way you have spent your last 36 hours?

Are you happy with what you have achieved?

Who you spent it with?

The mind-set you lived with?

The results you achieved?

Most of us if we answered honesty would admit to falling short in one of those areas we are only human and we live at such a fast pace that we react and make decisions based on what we are faced with at that time, however if we knew we would be reviewing it every 36 hours we may make different decisions.

Now is the time to live like you will be reviewing every 36 hours, in fact go one better and actually review your week it makes a tremendous difference to what you will achieve.

Reviewing allows you to deal with the negative and only move forward with positive emotions, by processing the negative things we find fixes, implement change and solutions giving us confidence that this challenge will not reappear we then focus on the positive things giving us better results, the same can be said for the company you keep, I would encourage a cull!!!

Review your current relationships and make changes, I want to be around positive people, I thrive from others success and drive and that’s why coaching works for me I have surrounded myself with successful driven individuals whose personalities are bold and believable they drive me to be at my best. What emotions do you feel in the company you keep?

Review your productivity and think about the mind-set you had and what results you achieved think about your chunks of time, were they rushed or relaxed, were you under pressure, stressed or frustrated, what were your stress levels and why? Who caused you the stress and frustrations? What can you do about those relationships? Is it time for change? What do you need to change?

Time management is most effective if you view it like a man, do one thing at a time!!!!!!!!!

Wearing only one hat will make us more focused and productive, organise your week with chunks of time and focus on just one thing. Give yourself a goal and a time deadline in which to achieve it.

Stop the neg ferrets, these are people who simply want to offload their negativity onto you, you don’t need them, these people offer you nothing.

Don’t allow the time thief’s to distract you, Identify who are your key people and give them the time they need and deserve, do not get drawn into the “can I just have a minute” (equals 96 hours over a year!)

Stop wishing for more time and focus on making the time you have the most effective and nourished. Spend it with positive people, focus on one thing at a time, prioritise and live only with a positive mindset.

Walking into a room full of people you don’t know without the comfort of food and wine is a daunting experience for some, for others it is a welcome opportunity to grow a network of professional contacts.

Networking is an essential tool to your grow business. So, by reviewing your approach to networking and changing your opinion; from seeing it as an uncomfortable chore; to a fantastic low investment tool to source new business, will help you confront the fear and network like a ninja!

5 Tips For Successful Networking

Do your homework. Who will be there? Who will you know? Who will they be able to introduce you to? Arrange to go with a colleague who can introduce you to a someone you would like to build a relationship with.

Remember that everyone is in the same position. Nobody is there to be vindictive or embarrass you. Most people are prepared to help and support others. Be yourself. Be genuine. Join in.

Set yourself realistic goals. Who would you like to do business with? Aim to start between 1-3 new relationships. Also think about how many business cards you want to give out. Don’t work the room, don’t hustle!

Practice your icebreaker questions. Refer to your research and ask questions about a recent work project or award, or a paper/blog/book they recently published. Everyone loves talking about themselves!

Remember the most important, but commonly the most missed stage of networking, is the follow up. Make it personal. Refer to a common ground and something interesting you both discussed. Don’t be pushy. Work on building the relationship. Build rapport before closing the sale.

Networking doesn’t have to be daunting or hard work. The more events you attend, the more people you will recognise, the more relationships will develop and you will be surprised at how comfortable you feel.

Now, go network like a Ninja!

http://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/iStock-806998926.jpg591591samhttp://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Web_Logo-1.pngsam2017-09-26 11:47:032017-09-26 11:54:04Network Like A Ninja!

Not belonging to a Mastermind group is like skipping breakfast! You feel empty, lost and end up making the wrong decisions based on emotion… like choosing a cake for lunch rather than the salad!

Attending Mastermind meeting sets you up for the day/week/month and gives you balance, perspective and all the ingredients you need to motivate you to achieve your goals.

5 Reasons why Mastermind might be right for you.

A problem halved is a problem shared. That feeling of being alone in business is gone once you belong to a Mastermind group; where the primary focus is peer to peer mentoring and successes are shared and challenges solved.

Mastermind allows you to grow your network rapidly, not only by the number of members in the group, but by tapping into their network you’ll have access to a wider circle of influence.

Collaboration is a natural result of being a member of a Mastermind group. You may find synergy with other members and potentially a perfect fit for a joint venture.

By sharing challenges you learn new ideas and therefore make better decisions faster; resulting in increased productivity and a bigger bottom line!

Being in a room of inspiring business men and women encourages a positive and growth mind-set. Mastermind is often referred to as a place where personal development thrives. Your trusted board of advisors motivate, inspire and push you beyond your comfort zone where you personally grow and develop.

Why Does It Work?

The success of the group is due to the commitment and support of its members, who are dedicated to improving their businesses, their leadership, their community and each other. The openness and receptiveness within the group, along with their willingness to put ego aside and apply the necessary passion and commitment in the pursuit of being the best is what makes Mastermind so valuable.

Cloud9 believes that our biggest strength is our community we have facilitated Mastermind groups since 2010. Mastermind acts as a catalyst for growth. The monthly meetings offer a combination of brainstorming, education, accountability and support in a trusted group environment to improve your business and personal skills.

Cloud9 Mastermind – What Really Happens?

A group of up to 12 business owners or future leaders from non- competing organisations.

A monthly offsite meeting at a central Essex & London location.

Facilitated by experts in business and talent development.

Lively, participative and authentic discussions based on current business and development challenges.

Members challenge each other to set clear goals.

We encourage creative thinking and brave decision-making.

Members share success stories and challenges with each other.

Problems are solved through peer brainstorming and collective creative thinking.

Cloud9 Mastermind encourages innovation, enhances your natural talent and instincts, gives you confidence in your decision making and will move your business forward in a confidential, agenda-free and non-judgemental environment.

For details of any coaching programme or Mastermind Group you can contact Cloud9 on 02033 279 990 sam@cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk

http://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/young-business-people-group-have-meeting-and-working-in-modern-bright-office-indoor.jpeg6671000samhttp://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Web_Logo-1.pngsam2017-09-22 16:22:162017-09-22 16:22:45Not belonging to a Mastermind group is like skipping breakfast!

With so many hats to juggle, how can I possibly achieve balance?The answer is with bite-sized chunks!

Like all great goals, they are easier to achieve if you break them up into realistic chunks.I like to chunk my life into 3–month blocks.

I look at all of my roles individually and break them into 12 weeks, 3 easy to manage months (or in July 6 simple weeks!)

I ask myself the difficult question: – What do I need to do to really move my business/family/relationships forward? This gives me my focus for the next 12 weeks, it feels less daunting and far more realistic. And you can take other demands into consideration like school holidays, annual leave, staff shortages, projects, family commitments.

All of my roles affect each other, I may want to ease my sales target in August to consider the school holidays and my own annual leave, although this may have more of an impact in September, or I may need to enhance my leadership skills and team to manage my business whilst I am away.

The real secret is to review. Once you have identified your roles and set realistic bite–sized goals, review the challenges and successes in these areas weekly. This will help you implement fixes where needed and to celebrate your successes.

You may have more than 14 roles to play at any one time, but I believe it is simple when you build your support network. The last 6 weeks will prove how solid yours really is.

I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing support network and the very best family and circle of friends which makes my balance achievable. Like any great team you need to identify the role (or roles) you play and to achieve the winning formula.It is essential to have structure.

Work/Life Balance is achieved with the right People, Processes and Structure.

Do you have the right people around you?

Do you have robust processes in place?

Do you have a structure that allows for the help and support you need.

I suggest to achieve your work/life balance, clarify what makes you happy,be clear on what you want to achieve, set realistic goals, prioritise, detail your processes, implement structure and build your solid support network.

I have been running Mastermind groups for over 6 years and it still amazes me the value we all feel in sharing our ideas, challenges and successes to a trusted board of advisors. How lucky to have access to a group of professional peers who are genuine, honest and willing to help one another.

It is human nature to want to belong to a group and also feel like we contribute. This is the power of Mastermind.

I often hear from professionals that whilst being very comfortable with their business and their professional ability, it is still relatively lonely at the top. Taking work home to families or friends is entirely different to discussing daily challenges with another business owner.

I was once approached by a client’s wife who asked me why her husband could talk to me and not her. The answer is simple, I have no emotional attachment to the business whereas it has a real and obvious impact on her life.

This is the same with Mastermind. Members are able to offer a constructive view on someone else’s business and can often find solutions to other business challenges far easier than their own.

Mastermind is not networking.

I have spent many hours networking with other professionals. Everyone you engage with has a fantastic business and are enjoying enormous amounts of success. I have not met anyone at a network event who has shared a different tale. This is because when we are networking we are more often than not, in sales mode.

How to network effectively is an entirely different subject…

Why join a Mastermind group?

1. A safe environment to share ideas, challenges and successes with trusted professionals, who are willing to learn from others. 2. Find solutions to real business problems

3. A peer group to hold you accountable 4. Extending your business network

A great Mastermind group can have a huge impact but it is vitally important to have the right group for you.

I always offer a 3 month money back guarantee to my new members as I feel it takes at least three meetings to fully appreciate the value of Mastermind. After that you will be hooked for life, the members will become part of your team and your board of advisors.

Experience a true Mastermind group, and ensure you are not the cleverest person in the room.

If you would like more details on the Mastermind groups that we offer please email me direct:-

sam@cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk

http://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Cloud9-Mastermind-meetings.jpg378568samhttp://cloud9businesscoaching.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Web_Logo-1.pngsam2017-03-24 16:59:282017-03-24 16:59:45Why Two Minds Are Better Than One

I am fortunate to work with many inspiring and successful women who lead teams and businesses, who, like myself are striving to juggle and achieve balance.

Women in business have a lot to play for, the irony is that the one thing standing in the way of them and success is the confidence that they can achieve it.

I witness this in my coaching practice. I meet women who are unsure of their roles within the business, and what they, as individuals offer towards the growth and development of their business. It makes me smile because their potential is obvious, to me they are born leaders and born to be successful.Read more →

February is the month of love and love is the topic in the very first chapter of my book – Love what you do or why you do it!

My husband is often saying to my 12 year old son, “Mum is lucky she loves what she does”. Am I lucky? Yes, I believe I am. I also believe that I created a path that works for me, I experienced something and had to have more. Coaching is my drug and I need it every day!